Photo by: Jalisco Wayne/Roadside Attractions
We were joined on the Popternative show by Thomas Haden Church who’s new comedy-drama film Accidental Texan will premiere in theaters on March 8th, 2024. Based on the novel Chocolate Lizards by Cole Thompson, it also stars Rudy Pankow (Outer Banks, Uncharted), Carrie-Anne Moss (Jessica Jones, The Matrix), and Bruce Dern (Nebraska, The Hateful Eight).
The film follows actor Erwin (Rudy Pankow) who “flames out of his first professional acting job when he forgets to turn off his phone and triggers an explosive nightmare on set. His career and cell phone in tatters, he flees the New Orleans set, only to have his car break down deep in the heart of Texas oil country. Seeking refuge and some possible phone service in a local diner, he meets Faye (Carrie-Anne Moss), a kind waitress who takes pity on him and offers up the local phone book to find a mechanic. Without enough funds to fix his car, Erwin accepts an offer from Merle, a local oil driller (Thomas Haden Church) only to find out he too is nearly bankrupt and cannot pay his bills. With both men in desperate straits, Merle realizes their only hope may be Erwin’s acting skills and a little help from Faye’s shotgun.”
“Merle has his challenges, large and even larger, and Erwin has his challenges, even at his young age he only sees it as catastrophic, so when their paths converge it really is a journey of mutual discovery,” Thomas says of the film’s theme.
In our interview, Thomas also discusses working on a film adapted from a novel and what he enjoyed the most about working on it, and his previous work including family films like Over the Hedge and Aliens in the Attic with Austin butler. He also touches on the current state of Marvel films and and his work on Spider-Man 3, as well as working with Alexander Payne on Sideways which earned Thomas an Oscar nomination. Watch the full conversation below.
Accidental Texan will arrive in theaters on Friday, March 8th, 2024.